tom warner
t-bone
thanks, it might melt? not good. this is a lot of tedious work to melt down afterward, thanks so much,
Builds My Hawaiian 1975 Fj40 Resto-resurrection (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Aloha Jen
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
I can’t say for certain on that product, but the first time I insulted the brass pipes going to my rear heater I used pipe insulation from Home Depot… it did melt very quickly.
Armacell is rated to 300* and it did not.
- Thread starter
- #223
That’s a good point, something some of the mainland buyers might need to be aware of. But since I don’t have a rear heater, that insulation is only used on the two short segments from firewall to heater box, so will be easy to monitor its condition. Not sure it really applies all that much to me since the likelihood of my heater ever being used here in Hawaii is very unlikely.
Lol
- Thread starter
- #225
Made some more progress on the 40 recently. The old ingnition cylinder was probably original and definitely tired. Any key put in it could start it. Huge thanks to @ToyotaMatt for getting me the year correct New OEM ignition cylinder as well as a single OEM key for both the ignition and new fuel door lock.
Brand new same keyed fuel door lock, gasket and spring clip installed.
Very easy install for the new ignition cylinder, just need to remember to put the key in the ACC position and depress the little pin on the outside of the old crusty cylinder and it slides right out.
Brand new same keyed fuel door lock, gasket and spring clip installed.
Very easy install for the new ignition cylinder, just need to remember to put the key in the ACC position and depress the little pin on the outside of the old crusty cylinder and it slides right out.
- Thread starter
- #226
With new ignition cylinder installed, the steering shaft clamshell I had was pretty rough and in need of some restoration.
600, 1000 and then 2000 grit sandpaper was used on the plastic clamshell followed by some 3M cutting/buffing compound and a foam pad to give it a nice shine.
Time came to finally install the transfer and transmission boots. The old vinyl transfer case cover was trashed so installed a new OEM one with a new 4 speed shifter ball. Also prepped the reproduction floor mat from CityRacer that I have been waiting almost a year to install!
- Thread starter
- #227
CityRacer reproduction floor mat installed and cut some good quality (dirt/sand and water drop catching) floor mats to go on top of the reproduction whole floor mat for a little extra protection and easy cleaning.
Installed the under seat bottle jack bracket, bottle jack and tool roll. I didn’t have the band and clips that hold down the tool roll, so just cut a nylon tie down strap to hold the the tool roll down. It’s bolted in place and very secure.
Time had also come to address the old crusty steering wheel. We used an epoxy filler to try and smooth out the wheel and help build back up the spokes that had crumbled away from UV Sun damage over the years. The 2 part epoxy went on pretty well and was sanded smooth and then prepped for paint.
We used a flexible plastic primer made by Martin Seymour paints. A few coats of that was then followed by a Martin Seymour black bumper paint. The bumper paint is a satin black finish and been very durable in past uses. It also works well with the flexible plastic primer. It turned out pretty well, but could have used a couple more layers and sanding of the 2 part epoxy to help smooth out the wheel for a nicer finish. But it definitely works fine for this build.
Installed the under seat bottle jack bracket, bottle jack and tool roll. I didn’t have the band and clips that hold down the tool roll, so just cut a nylon tie down strap to hold the the tool roll down. It’s bolted in place and very secure.
Time had also come to address the old crusty steering wheel. We used an epoxy filler to try and smooth out the wheel and help build back up the spokes that had crumbled away from UV Sun damage over the years. The 2 part epoxy went on pretty well and was sanded smooth and then prepped for paint.
We used a flexible plastic primer made by Martin Seymour paints. A few coats of that was then followed by a Martin Seymour black bumper paint. The bumper paint is a satin black finish and been very durable in past uses. It also works well with the flexible plastic primer. It turned out pretty well, but could have used a couple more layers and sanding of the 2 part epoxy to help smooth out the wheel for a nicer finish. But it definitely works fine for this build.
GA Architect
SILVER Star
GREAT JOB! However, if the steering wheel imperfections bother ya, just slap one of these on there.
..
- Thread starter
- #229
Thanks, I have that exact steering wheel cover. That’s kind of why I wasn’t too concerned about the wheel, so will probably install that this weekend. It looks like it takes a long time to sew up though.
Did you install that one? Is it easier to do with the steering wheel attached or better off the vehicle?
- Thread starter
- #230
The windshield frame had some pretty bad drips from when it was painted a few months ago, so decided to sand down and respray when the recently acquired half doors were to be painted the body color.
Once the windshield frame was painted and cured, we attempted to install some original Toyota windshield glass. But the 40 year old glass cracked as the last bit was being pushed in. I had a spare windshield (also very old glass), but didn’t want to break that one as well. Looked into a local glass company and took the spare windshield to them to cut a copy. Price was reasonable and they even installed it in the windshield frame for me.
Once all of the wiper accessories were reinstalled, we mounted up the windshield frame and screwed it in with some new stainless windshield screws and those terrible star washers that dig into your newly painted frame. This was a big step in getting the windshield mounted and secured.
With halfdoors ready to be installed, we cleaned up and painted the side mirror posts. Not sure where these are from, as I haven’t seen any before that mount to the door hinge like these. But they will work for my needs and added some new OEM convex side mirrors as well. I already don’t like the convex mirros, so will probably be getting the flat ones with the black rubber surrounds pretty soon.
Once the windshield frame was painted and cured, we attempted to install some original Toyota windshield glass. But the 40 year old glass cracked as the last bit was being pushed in. I had a spare windshield (also very old glass), but didn’t want to break that one as well. Looked into a local glass company and took the spare windshield to them to cut a copy. Price was reasonable and they even installed it in the windshield frame for me.
Once all of the wiper accessories were reinstalled, we mounted up the windshield frame and screwed it in with some new stainless windshield screws and those terrible star washers that dig into your newly painted frame. This was a big step in getting the windshield mounted and secured.
With halfdoors ready to be installed, we cleaned up and painted the side mirror posts. Not sure where these are from, as I haven’t seen any before that mount to the door hinge like these. But they will work for my needs and added some new OEM convex side mirrors as well. I already don’t like the convex mirros, so will probably be getting the flat ones with the black rubber surrounds pretty soon.
GA Architect
SILVER Star
Yep, it's a pretty easy install, just takes time and patience. I installed mine with the wheel attached. Maybe get you a Velcro strip to be able to lock the stitching at a point if you need to take a break....One nanner job with your talent.
See post #1837 < click here >
- Thread starter
- #232
Thanks for that post link, that will be helpful when I sew mine up.
- Thread starter
- #234
Another big step in this build was getting the seats installed, starting to look more and more like a finished 40.
Because this 40 is going to be a full time topless truck, with the exception of a bikini top, seat belts needed to be figured out. I had collected over the years a couple pairs of rear lap seat belts. Decided to use those in front after a little cleanup and paint.
Carefully removed most of the rust without damaging the Toyota logo on the press button. Used some phosphoric acid to treat the rust before a coat of paint on the black buckle. Scrubbed the nylon webbing and cleaned up the chrome with some chrome polish. Turned out pretty nice.
A little before and after~
Looking really good! Getting very close to nearing the completion stage!!
Because this 40 is going to be a full time topless truck, with the exception of a bikini top, seat belts needed to be figured out. I had collected over the years a couple pairs of rear lap seat belts. Decided to use those in front after a little cleanup and paint.
Carefully removed most of the rust without damaging the Toyota logo on the press button. Used some phosphoric acid to treat the rust before a coat of paint on the black buckle. Scrubbed the nylon webbing and cleaned up the chrome with some chrome polish. Turned out pretty nice.
A little before and after~
Looking really good! Getting very close to nearing the completion stage!!
- Thread starter
- #235
One part of this project that had been put off was the rebuilding of the rear wire harness. The PO had chopped it all up for wiring in some horrible jeep taillights and a trailer plug. They also cut the fuel gauge sender wires as well, so some serious work was needed on rebuilding the rear harness. Using a spare rear harness from another fj40, the two were used to create one good harness. All lines that were spliced in were cleaned, soldered and wrapped in heat shrink vinyl. Because the taillight plugs were from a different year, I got some really good quality replacement plugs from @ToyotaMatt
After all the wiring work was done, the rear harness was then wrapped in Tesa tape for abrasion protection, then the length of it was covered in corrugated plastic wiring tube, and finally the entire rear harness was wrapped in 3M electrical tape. It’s probably overkill, but we can be confident it’s very well protected and should last another 40 years.
While the harness was open, it allowed us to run dedicated ground wires from the twilight housing’s, a third upper running/brake light (more on that in a minute) as well as dedicated grounds from the license plate lights.
All of these ground wires were bundled up in the harness before it was wrapped and run all the way up to a grounding wire location in the engine bay near the negative battery post. Hopefully this will help to alleviate any grounding issues in the future.
With the rear harness installed, I could finally put in the two jewels of the 40s rear end. Brandon over at Classic Cruisers in Colorado sourced me some new OEM taillights with the OEM gaskets to finish off the back.
After all the wiring work was done, the rear harness was then wrapped in Tesa tape for abrasion protection, then the length of it was covered in corrugated plastic wiring tube, and finally the entire rear harness was wrapped in 3M electrical tape. It’s probably overkill, but we can be confident it’s very well protected and should last another 40 years.
While the harness was open, it allowed us to run dedicated ground wires from the twilight housing’s, a third upper running/brake light (more on that in a minute) as well as dedicated grounds from the license plate lights.
All of these ground wires were bundled up in the harness before it was wrapped and run all the way up to a grounding wire location in the engine bay near the negative battery post. Hopefully this will help to alleviate any grounding issues in the future.
With the rear harness installed, I could finally put in the two jewels of the 40s rear end. Brandon over at Classic Cruisers in Colorado sourced me some new OEM taillights with the OEM gaskets to finish off the back.
- Thread starter
- #236
One addition we added was something I had never seen before, so it might be a first. If it is, then i suppose it could be called the Aloha Jen spare tire brake light. The inspiration for this came from an article I was reading about how most rear end traffic accidents happen because the person behind didn’t see the person in from stop. This prompted the 1995 US safety mandate for all new cars to have a third upper brake light.
This got me thinking about my Fj40. The running/brake taillights sit pretty low, and with the larger 33” spare tire that could potentially obscure some of the left twilight…the idea for the Aloha Jen spare tire brake light was born (as far as I know. Apologies if this is already someone else’s brilliant idea).
It’s very simple, I got a new OEM hub cap with the center cut out for the front hubs. Then found a round brake light that fit snugly into the opening. The brake light also has kind of a retro vibe to it as well.
Then some tabs were folded out from the hub caps inner lip that lined up the the brake lights bolt holes. Drilled some holes in the hub cap, coated the drilled holes with some enamel nail polish, and attached the light to the hub cap with some good stainless hardware and rubber washers to help prevent any water intrusion. The light itself also had a rubber gasket on the back as well.
The whole unit plugs into a long pigtail that runs through the center of the spare tire, down the back of the spare tire carrier and then under the space between the body and the frame where it’s spliced into the rear wire harness.
There is enough slack in the wire that runs down the back of the spare tire carrier to accommodate the opening and closing of the carrier. The wire is also wrapped in a body colored corrugated wire tube to help protect it.
It’s certainly not for everyone, but we have put so much work into this 40 that if this addition helps prevent someone from plowing into the rear, then I think it is definitely worth it and is kinda cool IMO. Here the finished product!
This got me thinking about my Fj40. The running/brake taillights sit pretty low, and with the larger 33” spare tire that could potentially obscure some of the left twilight…the idea for the Aloha Jen spare tire brake light was born (as far as I know. Apologies if this is already someone else’s brilliant idea).
It’s very simple, I got a new OEM hub cap with the center cut out for the front hubs. Then found a round brake light that fit snugly into the opening. The brake light also has kind of a retro vibe to it as well.
Then some tabs were folded out from the hub caps inner lip that lined up the the brake lights bolt holes. Drilled some holes in the hub cap, coated the drilled holes with some enamel nail polish, and attached the light to the hub cap with some good stainless hardware and rubber washers to help prevent any water intrusion. The light itself also had a rubber gasket on the back as well.
The whole unit plugs into a long pigtail that runs through the center of the spare tire, down the back of the spare tire carrier and then under the space between the body and the frame where it’s spliced into the rear wire harness.
There is enough slack in the wire that runs down the back of the spare tire carrier to accommodate the opening and closing of the carrier. The wire is also wrapped in a body colored corrugated wire tube to help protect it.
It’s certainly not for everyone, but we have put so much work into this 40 that if this addition helps prevent someone from plowing into the rear, then I think it is definitely worth it and is kinda cool IMO. Here the finished product!
I get wanting every last bit of protection you can get.
For 25+ years I’ve been locking my steering wheel to the cage when parked…. Not because of high crime rates or because it’s not insured… because it’d be almost impossible to replace it. These days it’d cost 100k to buy a turn key replacement, and insurance won’t cover that.
You have done a fantastic job! Congratulations!
- Thread starter
- #240
Thanks! It’s been a long project that can finally see some light at the end of the project tunnel. I’ve been very fortunate to have talented friends and family to help me, from really good new and used parts professionals to knowledgeable mechanics and fabricators.
